Fathers' Leave and Fathers' Involvement: Evidence from Four OECD Countries.

In recent years, several OECD countries have taken steps to promote policies encouraging fathers to spend more time caring for young children, thereby promoting a more gender equal division of care work. Evidence, mainly for the United States and United Kingdom, has shown fathers taking some time off work around childbirth are more likely to be involved in childcare related activities than fathers who do not take time off. This paper conducts a first cross-national analysis on the association between fathers' leave taking and fathers' involvement when children are young.

Is Participation in Head Start Associated with Less Maternal Spanking for Boys and Girls?

Head Start includes family-oriented services to enhance parent-child relationships, but little is known about the effect of Head Start on parenting practices. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort ( ≈ 7,000), we examined whether participation in Head Start was associated with maternal spanking, with particular attention to whether the association differed by child gender. We found that Head Start participation was associated with lower likelihood that mothers spanked their child in the past week at both preschool and kindergarten entry as well as lower likelihood that mothers would use spanking in a hypothetical situation, among boys but not girls.

"Head Start and Children's Nutrition, Weight, and Health Care Receipt".

Using a sample of low-income children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort ( ≈ 4,350) and propensity-score weighted regressions, we analyzed children's nutrition, weight, and health care receipt at kindergarten entry, comparing 1) Head Start participants and all non-participants, and 2) Head Start participants and children in prekindergarten, other center-based care, other non-parental care, or only parental care. Overall, we found that compared to all non-participants, Head Start participants were more likely to receive dental checkups but showed no differences in getting medical checkups; they were also more likely to have healthy eating patterns but showed no differences in Body Mass Index (BMI), overweight, or obesity. However, these results varied depending on the comparison group-Head Start participants showed lower BMI scores and lower probability of overweight compared to those in other non-parental care, and the effects on healthy eating and dental checkups differed by comparison group.

The effectiveness of booster sessions in CBT treatment for child and adolescent mood and anxiety disorders.

Background: To investigate the effects of booster sessions in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with mood or anxiety disorders, whereas controlling for youth demographics (e.g., gender, age), primary diagnosis, and intervention characteristics (e.

Head start participation and school readiness: evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort.

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ≈ 6,950), a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001, we examined school readiness (academic skills and socioemotional well-being) at kindergarten entry for children who attended Head Start compared with those who experienced other types of child care (prekindergarten, other center-based care, other nonparental care, or parental care). Using propensity score matching methods and ordinary least squares regressions with rich controls, we found that Head Start participants had higher early reading and math scores than children in other nonparental care or parental care but also higher levels of conduct problems than those in parental care. Head Start participants had lower early reading scores compared with children in prekindergarten and had no differences in any outcomes compared with children in other center-based care.

School Readiness among Children of Immigrants in the US: Evidence from a Large National Birth Cohort Study.

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ≈ 6,800), we examined the factors explaining variation in school readiness in a large and nationally representative sample of children in immigrant and non-immigrant families. In OLS regression models with rich controls to account for selection, we found that language background was a key factor in explaining children of immigrants' expressive language and early reading at kindergarten, whereas both socioeconomic status and language background helped explain their performance in math.